Want to know how to fertilize your impatiens this year with the perfect dose of nutrients to keep them healthy, vibrant – and most importantly – blooming big all summer?
When it comes to adding gorgeous color to the shadier locations of your home and landscape, it doesn’t get much better than growing impatiens. Impatiens produce hundreds of small blooms and can be found in just about any color you can imagine.
Even better, they also happen to be one of the few annuals that bloom with vigor in the shade. But as beautiful as impatiens can be, without a little help in the form of extra power, they will often start to struggle as the summer season plays out. Not just with a decline in blooms, but with fading foliage as well.
How To Fertilize Impatiens With The Perfect Dose Of Power
When it comes to fertilizing impatiens, what you use for fertilizer, and how you apply it both make a big difference in just how successful you will be in keeping your impatiens flowering strong.
All plants use the resources and nutrients found in the soil in order to produce new foliage and blooms. But as the growing season goes along, those resources can quickly disappear. And if those nutrients are not replenished in some fashion, the plants will start to suffer.
Potted plants and hanging baskets are especially at risk of this issue. Since there is only a limited amount of soil in containers, the plants, especially strong flowering annuals like impatiens, use up the resources extremely fast. And once they are gone – trouble looms. That is – unless you fertilize!
The Best Choice For Fertilizing Impatiens
Fertilizers come in all sorts of forms. From granules to liquids to fertilizing sticks, the options can almost be overwhelming. But when it comes to flowering annuals like impatiens, liquid fertilizers are the best option. And as you will see below – liquid fertilizers that have a lot of phosphorus and potassium!
Liquid fertilizers absorb quickly into the roots and leaves of a plant. This double dose of power helps to deliver nutrients fast. In addition, because it is in liquid form, you can control the amount given far more easily as well.
Even though all-purpose liquid fertilizers that have a fair balance of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) will work – it’s better to select a product that has less nitrogen, and far more phosphate and potassium. Affiliate Link: EZ-GRO 10-30-20 Blossom Booster Fertilizer – Liquid Plant Food.
Although nitrogen powers foliage growth, the phosphorus and potassium will power more blooms. That’s because both of those nutrients are key when it comes to helping to produce buds and keep plants healthy.
By selecting a fertilizer with less nitrogen, you will also keep plants from growing too large. When a flowering annual gets too much nitrogen, it simply grows larger. All at the expense of more blooms. But phosphorus and potassium simply power blooms and health!
Properly Applying Fertilizers
If you follow the instructions on commercial liquid fertilizers, you will likely end up with a large dose of nutrients all at once. This will result in an increase in foliage and root growth as opposed to allowing plants to put resources towards creating new blooms.
Instead, low and slow is the single biggest key to success when fertilizing impatiens. This will avoid too much overgrowing, yet still keep them flowering all season long. In addition, if you are inconsistent with applying fertilizers, your impatiens will suffer and struggle to produce a steady stream of blooms.
Use commercial liquid fertilizers at half the recommended dose on the package. Apply this lower dose once every seven to ten days. This will provide plants with a low but steady dose of nutrients that will not overpower them.
No matter which fertilizing option you choose, apply it early in the morning before the heat of the day kicks in. This reduces the chance of burning delicate plant foliage.
One Final Big Tip – Use Worm Castings On Your Impatiens!
One final big tip when it comes to impatiens – use worm castings! Especially for impatiens you have growing in containers and hanging baskets. Worm castings can be used along with regular liquid fertilizing for additional power.(Product Link: Wiggle Worm 100% Organic Worm Castings)
Listen In To Our Podcast Below On The Power Of Worm Castings!
Worm castings are the byproducts that worms leave behind after chewing through the soil. The result is a product that is high in nutrients but breaks down slowly. This allows the nutrients to absorb into the soil over time instead of all at once.
To use worm castings, add about a fourth of a cup of castings to the soil for each impatiens plant. Every time you water, the castings will slowly leech the nutrients into the soil.
But the castings also help hold in other nutrients that you provide as well. Castings can hold as much as ten times their weight in liquid. That helps when fertilizing – and when watering too! For best results, add the worm castings once a month to provide continual power to your impatiens.
By learning to fertilize your impatiens slowly and at low doses – and by giving them the right punch of power – you can keep your plants flowering big right up until your first frost. For more on flowering annual care, check out our article: How To Deadhead Annual Flowers To Keep Them Blooming.
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Simple Garden Life is a website dedicated to keeping gardening fun, simple and enjoyable! We publish two new articles each week along with a new garden podcast episode every two weeks. This article may contain affiliate links.